A Developing Love Story
by The Purple Warlock
Summary: The story of how Sophie and Gideon fall in love, and what happens afterwards
1. Chapter 1

Gideon P.O.V

I hated the fact father had dragged me back to London from Madrid to train a couple of girls who weren't Shadowhunters and a Shadowhunter that didn't want to be a Shadowhunter. I felt my talents were better placed at the Institute in Madrid, whose occupants had taught me more about being a Shadowhunter during the one year that I was there compared to what my father had taught me during the first eighteen years of life. One positive, if there was one, was that I could attempt to save my brother from further brainwashing from our father, a task it seemed, that looked easy on paper but in reality was a massive challenge.

Just as Gabriel and I were about to leave, our Father informed us that, although we had been officially tasked with the training, he wanted us to spy on the on goings of the London Institute. He had made no effort in hiding the fact that he wanted Charlotte's job so any information we could gather that would help him get there would be, in his words "very much appreciated". I appeared to agree with this task, but knew in my heart that the London Institute in the hands of Benedict Lightwood would be a disaster and I was determined to keep it in the hands of Charlotte Branwell.

We rode to the institute in silence. I was in no mood for conversation, and Gabriel seemed to have sensed that I had changed somewhat since leaving London, and, it pained me to think it, he didn't seem to know what to say to me anymore. We had been close growing up. Once we arrived at the Institute, we were greeted by Charlotte, and James Carstairs, who simply nodded by form of greeting. I felt a sense of relief that Will Herondale as I didn't really fancy breaking up a fight between him and Gabriel. The pair hated each other with a vengeance. Charlotte thanked us for coming, and informed us that Jem would be taking us to the training room. Jessamine, who was the Shadowhunter that didn't want to be a Shadowhunter had taken ill, so we would just be training Sophie, who was a mundane with the sight and Tessa, the shapeshifter no one really knew what to do with.

Whilst walking to the training room, Jem attempted to engage us in small talk, which Gabriel promptly ignored. I tried to respond but I had never been good at such things, so the entire walk was somewhat awkward. As we entered the training room, we were greeted by two girls, whom Jem introduced us too. "Tessa, Sophie, this is Gabriel (he pointed to Gabriel) and Gideon (he pointed to me, which I acknowledged with a nod of my head). Gabriel and Gideon this is Tessa (he pointed at the taller of the two) and Sophie (he pointed to the other girl, who, despite the small issue of having a scar on her left cheek was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen). Now that you've all been introduced, I'll leave you four to it" said Jem, and with that, he turned and left the training room.

Gabriel was looking round the room with an obvious look of disgust on his face. "I admit I expected better, but I suppose it will do. Miss Gray, I'll be in charge of your training. Miss Collins, You'll be with my brother" he said, and with that, he and Tessa went to one part of the training room, leaving me with Sophie. I must admit, I was glad that I had been paired with Sophie, not that I had anything against Tessa, I'm sure she was a very nice person, but it meant that I could spend time with Sophie. Where I was trying to hide my excitement, Sophie just looked uncomfortable.

Sophie P.O.V

I have to admit I wasn't overly keen on the idea of having to do training, but I agreed to do it as Charlotte had told me I needed to, and she had been told by Consul Wayland I needed to do it. Knowing that I would be training with Tessa helped. Although servants couldn't be friends with their employers, Tessa and I got on fairly well, and we seemed to enjoy each others company. As well as Tessa being a familiar face, having someone in the room who also didn't have any training took away some of the pressure of having to pretend that I was better than I was.

We decided it would be best to arrive early, to avoid the awkwardness of walking in late. Jessamine was ill apparently, but I think she was just saying whatever she could to get out of training. Whilst we were waiting, Tessa asked me what I knew of the Lightwood brothers, who were the two Shadowhunters who had been drafted in to train us. After a slight pause, I answered "not much, only what I have heard. I know that Master Will and the younger Lightwood brother have a hatred for each other going back several years. As I understand it, the older lightwood brother isn't a fan of Master Will either. Talking of the older brother, he's spent the last year in Spain, the Madrid institute to be exact but his father summoned him back to London to train us" I said. Tessa looked as though she was about to ask another question, as was her habit when her curiosity peaked, but at that point Jem entered the room, followed by, whom I presume were the Lightwood brothers.

As Jem did the introductions, it appeared that my hunch had been correct. From what I had heard about them from Master Will, I had expected them to be a couple of Monsters, but they were far from it. Gideon was particularly nice on the eye, but I knew I couldn't think like that. Partly because he was here simply to teach me how to fight, partly because I was just a maid and he was a Lightwood, and partly because there was a part of my heart that belonged to Jem. That part of my heart sank when Jem admitted that he would not be staying for the duration of the training session.

It had been decided by Gabriel that I would be training with Gideon. Before I could object, Gabriel and Tessa had gone off, leaving me with Gideon, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. Since the incident with my previous employer, I had never felt comfortable with men, especially ones I didn't know that well. Gideon looked at me "I suggest that we start with knife throwing" he said, almost cautiously, I nodded in agreement. "Just tell me what to do, you're the expert" I said, which caused Gideon to pull what seemed like a smile, but it happened so quickly I had thought I had missed it. "Incluso su voz es Hermosa" (even her voice is beautiful) he said, which made me think I had annoyed him somehow.

We spent the rest of the session throwing knives at a target. Gideon wanted me to throw a knife without any instructions, so he could see what I was able to do. I flung the knife, which missed the centre but just about made the target. I felt slightly proud of myself as I had expected to have missed completely. This pride was short lived as Gideon made another comment in Spanish "No está mal para un primer intento, creo que esto será más fácil de lo que había esperado" (Not bad for a first attempt, I think this will be easier than I had expected). Oh God I really had annoyed him. By the time the session had ended, I had successfully hit the centre several times. During the session, Gideon had gotten particularly close, casing the hairs on the back of my neck and arm to stand on end, but he was simply helping me to get my position correct. Once Gabriel had declared that he and Gideon would be leaving, Gideon glance at me and said "Hasta la próxima vez" (Until the next time) which probably meant "thank god that's over" and they both left.

I put my head in my hands as Tessa came over. "How did you find it?" she asked gently. "Horrible. He hates me. He kept taking in Spanish, probably so he could say nasty things about me and I be oblivious" I replied. Tessa gave me a sympathetic look "You don't know that Sophie" she said, which bristled me slightly. I knew she meant well, but I hated when people felt the need to say nice things to me for the sake of saying something nice. I left Tessa in the training room before I could say something rude.


	2. Chapter 2

***Gideon P.O.V***

The longer I stayed in London, the more three things became apparent. The first: my Father had gotten worse with his dallying with demons. The second: my brother was completely loyal to my father and nothing I said or did made the slightest bit of difference. And third: the time I got to spend with Sophie was making my life in London bearable. I don't know how I would be coping without her. To be honest, I would have probably defied my father, abandoned my brother and gone straight back to Madrid. But I did have Sophie, and she anchored me to London. The more training sessions I spent with her, the more my feelings for her grew stronger.

I desperately wanted Sophie to like me back, and I was doing everything I could think of to achieve this, but due to my limited previous experience with girls, and the limited time I spent with her didn't seem to help. I had developed a habit of slipping into Spanish when I was in a good mood. A habit, it appeared that only seemed to occur when I was with Sophie. Although I was enjoying the training sessions, it was becoming more and more obvious that Gabriel on the other hand was not.

One day, during a training session, his frustrations boiled over causing him to say some unforgiveable things about the institute and about Charlotte's leadership. That was a mistake as Sophie, it turned was fiercely protective of Charlotte and would defend her by any means necessary. The result of this defensiveness was Sophie screaming at Gabriel then slapping him round the face, which looked painful. Gabriel then stormed out, making comments about the fact that he had no intention of returning. Tessa, who realized that he tutor had no plans on returning, also left, which left me alone with Sophie. I turned to her, only to find her sitting on a bench at the side of the room with her head in her hands.

I awkwardly sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was the first time I had touched her out of a training context and I had no idea how she was going to react. She didn't even seem to notice, "Sophie what's the matter" I asked softly. She then looked up with such fear in her eyes that I just wanted to hold her close and protect her. She spoke so quietly that I had to concentrate to hear her "I shouldn't have spoken like that, and I certainly shouldn't have slapped him. He's gone and Mrs. Branwell will be so angry with me. She'll have no choice but to let me go". She sounded so defeated that it hurt. Without really thinking, I cupped her face in my palm, making her look me in the eyes. "Sophie you did nothing wrong. You were provoked, and defended someone who means a lot to you. I'm sure she'll understand, and I saw the whole event, I can confirm what happened if I need to." I said, and without really thinking, I lent forward and kissed her.

"Whatever happens to these training sessions Sophie, I have enjoyed my time with you. In fact, it's been the only thing that's stopped me from packing my bags and returning to Madrid. If you are agreeable I would very much like to keep seeing you" I said once I had broken the kiss with Sophie. She looked confused "I thought you hated these sessions. Whenever I do something you start speaking Spanish. Surely that's so you can say something nasty in front of me without me knowing" she said. I kicked myself for not remembering that I was the only one who knew what I was saying. "I only speak Spanish when I am in a good mood. With the way things are, I'm only in a good mood when I'm with you" I replied, which Sophie seemed to like, as she gave one of her rare smiles. Her entire face seemed to brighten when she smiled, and I made a promise to myself to get her to smile more often.

"Well in that case Mr Lightwood, I am very much agreeable to continue seeing you, regardless of what happens with training" she said, which caused my heart to lift in my chest. I'm not sure who instigated it, but I found myself kissing Sophie forever. When we finally broke for air I whispered "Deseo que podría besarte por siempre" (I wish I could kiss you forever) which caused Sophie to smile. I then added "Pero, de nuevo, al ver su hermosa sonrisa es también una cosa increíble" (But then again, seeing your beautiful smile is also an amazing thing). Sophie then kissed me lightly on the cheek, and left, saying "as much as I would be happy to stay here, I need to inform Mrs Branwell that she has lost a tutor and I have work to do". I stayed where I was for a moment, grinning at what had just happened. Eventually I too left, thinking "Today has been a very good day".

***Sophie P.O.V***

As the training sessions had been going on fairly well. I admit that I was enjoying my time with Gideon. At first, I was confused. I still had feelings for Jem, but I felt those feelings fade, and my feelings for Gideon increase. He was always so gentle and kind. He was patient when I was struggling with something and was constantly thinking of ways to help me improve. The only problem was that he would occasionally speak Spanish, and I assumed this was because I displeased him. I doubt that someone like Gideon Lightwood would ever notice someone like me, a mundane maid when they had all the Shadowhunting aristocracy to choose from. Feelings were a confusing thing.

My confusion changed one day. I had gotten into an argument with Gabriel after he had insulted Charlotte, an argument which had ended with me slapping Gabriel round the face which then caused him to leave, vowing never to return. My feeling of triumph was however short lived, as I felt awful when I had realised the full force of what happened. I had lost a tutor, who just happened to be the son of the man who wanted to take over the Institute. It was obvious that Charlotte would have no choice but to have me removed from my position and that yet again, I would be back on the streets. I sat on a bench with my head in my hands, when I felt a hand on my shoulder: Gideon. "Oh God I bet he's disgusted at me. I struck his brother" I thought. Oh how wrong I was.

Gideon not only seemed to understand what I had done, but was prepared to defend me if Charlotte started to investigate. He then did the last thing I had been expecting: he lent forward and kissed me. I was so stunned I didn't do anything. He went onto say I was the only good thing about him being in London, and that, regardless of what happened to the training sessions, he wanted to continue seeing me. When I challenged him about him making comments in Spanish, he explained that it was due to him being in a good mood. When he said that, I knew that I would continue to see him. I told him, and we were kissing again. This time, I was kissing him back. It was during that kiss I knew that my feelings for Jem were gone for good.

Eventually I had to leave to inform Charlotte about Gabriel's absence. She probably already knew, so I knew that I would have to apologize and put forward my version of the story. Depending on what she said, I would either be resuming my chores or packing my bags. I was preparing myself for the latter. I knocked on the door to Charlotte's office, and waited for her to allow me in. When she did, I suddenly got a wave of nerves. There would be no turning back now. As I entered, Charlotte looked up, with concern in her eyes "Sophie dear is everything alright?" she asked. I tried to keep calm "No not really. I had an argument with Gabriel…he'd insulted you and I didn't like it. I slapped him, and he left and he claimed that he would never return. I'm so sorry Charlotte" I said. When I had finished, Charlotte laughed, actually laughed. "Sophie is that what's worrying you?" she asked and when I nodded she continued "Tessa has already told me what happened. I'm honored to you defended me, and it is my understanding Gabriel didn't want to be here. He was looking for a reason to leave and it just so happens that you gave him that reason. I think you did him a favor" she said. I couldn't believe it, she wasn't angry with me.

I was just about to speak when Gideon of all people burst into the office. "Mrs Branwell, I apologise for this intrusion but I have to beg you not to punish Sophie. It wasn't her fault, she was provoked. I know I saw the whole event" he then stopped, realising what he must sound like. Charlotte smiled "Mr Lightwood I had no intention of inflicting any punishment on Sophie for what happened in the training room with your brother." She said. There was a slight pause, and it was obvious from our faces that both Gideon and I hadn't expected her to say that. "You're not" we both asked simultaneously, then blushed. Charlotte looked from my face to Gideon's, and raised an eyebrow. She could tell that something had happened after the fight between the pair of us, but she wasn't going to ask about it unless we said something. Instead she looked at me "Sophie dear, I feel as though you have been through enough today. Take the rest of the day off" and with that, she resumed her work, indicated the fact we should both leave.

We both took the hint, and left her office. Once the door closed, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Gideon just looked embarrassed "I'm sorry" he began but I cut him off with a light kiss to the lips "tell me Mr Lightwood, what are your thoughts on Hyde Park at this time of year?" I asked, with more confidence than I would normally do. He smiled, and what a smile he had. "I think that I would enjoy it a lot more with you" he said with a smile. He then offered me an arm but I took a step back "I'm still in training gear. I shall go change but I shall return momentarily" I said and hurried off before he could realize I was heading towards the servant quarters. I had to remind myself not to get carried away. I was a maid after all.

Once I changed, I decided to find Gideon. It didn't take me long as he hadn't strayed far from where I had left him. When he saw me return, he face just lit up with one of his dazzling smiles. When I had gotten closer, he offered me his arm, which I took and off we went. It was a beautiful day, and I regretted not bringing a picnic. As we walked around Hyde Park, Gideon set out to try to get to know me better. I hadn't noticed it before, but whenever he looked at me, he looked at me, rather than my scar. He hadn't been repulsed by it, nor had he asked me about it. What he was interested in were things like what I enjoyed doing in my free time, and memories about my past. He offered information about himself, like the scraps he and Gabriel had gotten into as Children and the adventures he had been in Madrid. When we finally returned to the institute, he took my hand and kissed it, saying "Hasta la próxima vez." I had heard him say that before, so I asked him what it meant. "Until the next time" he translated, which made me smile. With a nod his head, he turned and left. "Until the next time" I whispered as I watched him go. Today had been a good day.


	3. Chapter 3

***Gideon P.O.V***

Thankfully the training sessions continued, which meant I got to see a lot more of Sophie. As Tessa was often needed to help with the investigation with Mortmain, and the lack of my brother (who was keeping his word of not returning) it was often just me and Sophie in the training room, not that I was complaining of course. As well as being able to see Sophie in training, we would often go out on her days off, either to parks or places of interest to both of us. The more time I spent with her, the more I knew I was falling in love with her. My father on the other hand was spending more and more time with Downworlders and demons, all in an attempt to get closer to Mortmain. As I was my father's son, there was a certain level of mistrust from the rest of the institute towards me, as they seemed to think I was in the same league as him. Gabriel might be a Lightwood loyalist, but I had seen enough to convince me that I wasn't. Instead of telling the others and risk being called a liar, I told Sophie, who thankfully believed me.

In fact, Sophie was the first person I admitted to that I was considering abandoning my father all together and joining those at the London Institute. When I admitted this to her, she took a moment to think, then said "if that's what you want to do then you should. But from what I've heard your father isn't the forgiving sort, so as soon as you admit you are turning your back on your father, will be the point of no return" which, as much as I may not want to believe, was true. At least she seemed to understand. There was of course the matter of if I did decide to leave my father, of how I went about it. When I asked Sophie, she suggested I told everyone else, and attempt to rally some reinforcements. According to her, I shouldn't have to confront my father alone, and the information I had about him may prove beneficial to Charlotte and the investigation against Mortmain. I couldn't fault Sophie's plan, so I agreed.

We returned to the institute in time for dinner, and it was there I planned to make my announcement. Thankfully, the reaction had gone the way Sophie had said it would, rather than how I had thought. Charlotte thanked me, and we started planning on how we would challenge my father, and get information about Mortmain from him. Sophie, I noticed was absent for the duration of the conversation. As the conversation developed, it was realised that the reason for my mother's suicide wasn't to do with my Uncle, but the fact my Father had infected her with Demon Pox, which was why he was fraternizing with Mortmain, in an attempt to get a none existent cure. Where Will was triumphant that he now had proof that the condition existed, I felt both sick and angry. I had always had a gut instinct that the story my Father had given about my Mother's death wasn't completely true, but now I knew the truth, I knew I could no longer associate myself with that man. In my eyes he was scarcely a man, let alone my father.

Once Charlotte had calmed Will down, (she seemed to sense my discomfort at his triumph), she suggested that we use the fact that Benedict had Demon Pox as a form of blackmail, to both have him remove his challenge to be head of the institute and force him to give information on what her knew about Mortmain. She allowed me to stay the night, so I could avoid returning and join them the following day for the confrontation, which I agreed to. I would be joined my Charlotte, Henry and Will. Jem would remain behind to guard the Institute and to plan his wedding to Tessa. As the conversation came to an end, Sophie appeared, and Charlotte asked her to take me to one of the guest rooms as I would be staying the night.

As we left the dining room, Sophie (who was still in the clothes she had been wearing earlier in the day) asked me how the conversation with Charlotte and the others had gone. When I informed her that the confrontation would go ahead, and that I would be living at the Institute for the foreseeable future, she seemed sad, but she did well to try and hide it. I didn't understand why she didn't share my excitement, as by living there, we would get to see more of each other, which had to be a good thing. When we finally got to the room I would be staying in, Sophie made sure that I was happy with it, she made to go. As she did, I grabbed her wrist, I needed to know why she seemed so upset about my staying. "Sophie, what's the matter?" I asked, which seemed to confuse her slightly. She pulled her wrist from my grip, causing my arm to hang limply by side. "I don't know what you mean Mr Lightwood" she responded. Mr Lightwood? She had never called me that, so something definitely had to be wrong.

"I thought you would be happy that I would be staying here, as it would mean we could see more of each other. However it is very obvious that news has gone down well with you. Before you try and hide it, you calling me Mr Lightwood rather than Gideon was more than enough proof" I said. I was scared of her answer. When I had finished speaking, Sophie stopped trying to hide her feelings. Her answer broke my heart "Mr Lightwood, you're staying here would mean you would see me as I really am: a maid. Seeing each other as we have been doing, now I have to serve you would be vert improper. (She must have seen the confusion on my face) what I'm saying is that I think we should stop seeing each other. I'm sorry but I must admit, I saw this coming" and with that she left.

I had always known Sophie had been both a mundane and a maid, but I didn't care. It hadn't stopped my feelings for her, nor had her declaration that she thought we should stop seeing each other. I just had a challenge trying to prove that to her. It was getting late, so I attempted to get some sleep, but my anger at my father, hurt at the truth regarding my mother's death and my hurt of having upset Sophie prevented me from getting much sleep.

***Sophie P.O.V***

I had always known that whatever I had with Gideon would not last long, but I had put the end out of my mind and tried not to think about it. So when he admitted that he wanted to turn his back on all things Lightwood and officially join forces with the institute, I knew the end had come. Despite the sadness that had filled my heart, I put on a brave face and tried to support his decision. Surely his happiness regarding his loyalties should come before this false sense of hope I had given myself.

The sadness I had earlier that day had remained, and when the conversation was over, and Gideon confirmed that he would be staying, I was struggling to stop myself from crying. I knew that it was simply a matter of time before I had to tell him the truth. I couldn't hide from him forever. When we had gotten to his room, I had tried to make a break for freedom, but his Shadowhunter training had made him stronger and faster than I was, so he was able to prevent my escape. When he asked me what the matter was, I tried to play dumb, trying to protect him from the truth that was hurting me. Unfortunately he had seen through not only my act, but my poor attempt at putting on a brave face. I realised this was as good as any time to break the news to him, which I did. Once I finished, I went to leave. Just as I did, I swear I could hear his heart break. As soon as I was in the corridor, I ran back to my own room, just in time as I began to cry.

Bridget, despite her god awful singing, seemed to realise that despite the fact I had not finished my duties, I was best left alone. I just hope she wouldn't go and tell Charlotte as I don't think I could take the pity in her eyes, or bring myself to tell her why I was so upset. I didn't want anyone to know for that matter, as most would give unwanted pity, and Master Will would be his usual horrible self. Thankfully Bridget kept her mouth shut.

The next day was a fresh start. Crying last night had certainly helped, as I just felt numb, no longer having to fight off tears and put on a brave face. I decided that the only thing that I could do was avoid Gideon, or Mr Lightwood as I should now be calling him, as much as possible. Despite not seeing him after my announcement the day before, I had a feeling he hadn't taken the news well. He had enough on his plate without having me to worry about so avoiding him as much as possible seemed like the best option available. In fact, I'm fairly certain that it was the only option.

Once Charlotte, Henry, Will and Gideon had left, I was left with Jem, Tessa, Bridget and Cyril. As much as I was happy for Jem and Tessa and their engagement, I found myself hurting seeing them have something I couldn't: the ability to be with the person they loved, so I found myself unintentionally avoiding them as well. I hope they didn't notice. I busied myself with my chores, but my mind kept wandering to what was happening over at Lightwood manor. I hoped that it was all going to plan, for all their sakes.

I was in the dining room, preparing the table for lunch when they returned. I noticed immediately that Gabriel had not joined them, but as none of them seemed hurt, or were obviously angry, it can't have been a complete disaster. I found myself listening in as they filled Jem and Tessa in on what had happened. The blackmail had worked, and they had gotten some information, but not as much as they had wanted. Also, neither Benedict nor Gabriel had taken Gideon's departure very well, and had called him a traitor. I hoped he take that too harshly.

***Gideon P.O.V***

Sophie had been avoiding me all morning, which saddened me greatly, as it proved our conversation the night before really had happened. As much as I wanted to reconcile with her, tell her that I didn't care about her being a maid, I knew that I would have to save that for later. I needed to prepare to return to Lightwood Manor, confront Benedict, help Charlotte, attempt to save my brother and declare my loyalties to the Institute. As we travelled to Lightwood Manor, Charlotte and Will spent most of the journey discussing what information they wanted to collect. Henry, despite being physically in the carriage, was mentally back in his crypt. I was thinking about how much of a mess my life had become and how it had gotten there. I was aware that Charlotte kept glancing in my direction, but I chose to ignore it. I hoped she didn't take it too personally.

When we finally arrived, I was feeling slightly sick, but knew I was overthinking things. As I knew the place best, the rest were waiting on me to take the lead, which I did. Charlotte had sent word forward that we would be coming, and it had been arranged to meet in the office. As we entered, Benedict was behind his desk, and behind him, to my surprise was Gabriel. I felt my heart sink. Attempting to save him, it appeared had gotten a whole lot harder. I just hoped he would listen to reason. It was Charlotte who started talking. It didn't take long for things to get heated. As soon as she declared that we all knew the truth about Benedict's health, both Lightwood's the other side of the desk stiffened. It was Gabriel who spoke first "don't be absurd Charlotte, there is absolutely nothing wrong with my father's health." Both Charlotte and Will went to correct him, but I beat them both "Don't be stupid Gabriel. Benedict has Demon Pox. It was the reason our Mother died" this statement got a stronger reaction out of the pair.

"Our mother committed Suicide because of her brother's suicide, it had nothing to do with Father" Gabriel practically shouted. He clearly been blinded by Benedict's brainwashing, and this infuriated me. I shouted back "That is a lie! She contracted Demon Pox from Benedict then killed herself out of shame" which caused Gabriel to pale. He looked at Benedict to deny my claims, but his silence only seemed to confirm it. It was Charlotte that seemed to bring some kind of calm and order back to the conversation, and voiced what I had been thinking. "Benedict, the very fact that you haven't denied Gideon's claims only acts as confirmation that what he says is true. If you do not want me to go to the clave and inform them, I demand that you withdraw your attempt to replace me as head of the Institute and tell us what you know about Axel Mortmain" she said.

Benedict glared at her, with such a look of hatred it was slightly terrifying. "Are you blackmailing me Mrs Branwell?" he asked. Charlotte straitened her back, making her somewhat taller, unaffected by his face full of hate "As a matter of fact I am" she said. Realizing that he had no other choice Benedict agreed to withdraw his claim, and gave the smallest amount of information as possible about Mortmain. It was enough so he could say he had said something, but it was such a small amount he almost needn't have bothered. He finished by saying "is that all you wanted to say, or are you going to continue to waste my time?" Henry, Will and Charlotte turned their eyes to me. I pulled my family ring off my finger, and placed it on the desk "from this day on, my loyalties are to Charlotte and the London Institute, not to you or the name of Lightwood (I glanced over the Gabriel) Gabriel. Don't be a fool, you heard what he did to our mother, and he's lied to us for years. I beg you to see sense, join me" and when he took a step back, he made his choice clear. Benedict gave me a death glare and said coldly "You are a traitor to the name of Lightwood. If anyone asks, I will tell them I only have one son" and with that, I lead the other three out of the room. It was over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome to Chapter four. This is my first fanfiction I've published online so I'm unbelievably happy that people are reading it. I ship Sophie and Gideon so much, and as there are very few fanfictions about them, I decided to write one. The first three chapters were based around events in the book, but from this point on, I'm taking a more creative reign. I hope people are OK with that. I don't speak Spanish or Welsh so I'm using Google translate. I'm sorry if any of it is wrong.**

 **I own nothing but the plot.**

***Gideon P.O.V***

Once the earlier events had been relayed to the rest of the group, I made my excuses and retired to the room. I needed some space to sort my thoughts out. I wanted to talk things through with Sophie, as she had proved herself to be a good listener and provided very good advice, but after our conversation last night, I didn't feel like that was possible. In some ways, the fact that I had lost Sophie, who had been the one good thing in my life since being back in London had said we shouldn't continue what we had, hurt me more than the truth about my mother, Benedict's rejection and Gabriel's failure to see the truth. I guess it was because I had believed in what I had what we had, but hadn't fully believed in anything to do with Lightwood in a long time. I had expected what had happened at Lightwood manor to happen. What I hadn't expected was Sophie rejecting me as she didn't think she was good enough for me. Did she really think I was that much like Benedict?

I was interrupted by a knock at the door. When I opened it I found the last person I would have expected standing in the corridor: Sophie. She was holding a tray of sandwiches and some tea and said "you didn't make it to lunch, so lunch made it to you. Charlotte told us to give you some space but I didn't like the idea of you going hungry" she said. I swear Sophie was nothing but goodness, and she deserved to be happy. When I found my voice, I found myself saying "Gracias. Eso es lo más amable" and on seeing her confused voice, I realized I had spoken in Spanish, so I translated into English "Thank you, that is most kind" which got a small smile from Sophie. Once I had taken the tray from her, she curtsied then said "you're welcome Mr Lightwood. Unless there is something else you require, I shall return to my chores." As I hadn't automatically said anything, she took it as a no and turned and began walking down the corridor.

Dumping the tray on the bedside table, I hurriedly followed her out into the corridor. I had to do something about the barrier that had been place between us. "Sophie!" I called, which made her stop in her tracks and turn to look as me. "I do wish you would stop calling me that, it's not proper Mr Lightwood" she replied. I'd caught up with her, and looked into her eyes "no, I won't. I do wish you would stop calling me Mr Lightwood, and call me Gideon like you used to" I half said, half begged. She shook her head. "It's not proper Master Gideon" she said. Well, Master Gideon was an improvement from Mr Lightwood I suppose. "I don't care what's proper Sophie. I love you, and I loved spending time with you. I've always known you were a maid, and yet I still found myself falling for you. It's killing me that you don't think you are good enough for me. You are as good…no you are better than every single Shadowhunter that has tried to impress me. Can we please just talk?" I said. I practically begged the last part.

I had declared my feelings and had firmly put my heart on my sleeve. I was suddenly very afraid of her rejecting me again. I didn't handle the first rejection very well, I don't think that I could deal with a second one. Thankfully she agreed, and we returned to my room. We somehow ended up sitting on the floor, with our backs up against the wall with the tray of food between us. As it turned out, Sophie hadn't eaten either, so I insisted she share mine. She was reluctant at first, but I insisted. I told her just how much I enjoyed her company, both during the training sessions and our outings together. I told her of my heartbreak when she had rejected me, and of all the reasons I loved her. I gave her my version of the day's events and how I had desperately wanted to talk to her but was worried that I wouldn't be able to. When I had finally finished talking, she looked over at me "well we are talking now aren't we?" she asked, which made me laugh, which in turn made Sophie laugh. "I hope this is the start of a great many more conversations" I declared. Sophie then took my hand in hers and said what had been so desperate to hear "I'm sure it will". She then glanced at the clock, and leapt to her feet, which made me jump.

"Whatever is the matter?" I asked. Sophie looked down at me. She smiled, as she realized how confused I must be. "I do apologies, but I have been away from my work for a rather long time. I have to return otherwise Mrs Branwell will start asking questions" she said, and with that, she darted out the room, leaving me sitting on the floor. "Lo que en la tierra Qué he hecho para merecer que?" (What on earth did I do to deserve you?) I whispered to a now absent Sophie. Realizing that she had left the tray behind, I decided to return it to her.

***Sophie P.O.V***

I had decided to take Gideon some lunch. I still had feelings for him, even if it was improper, and couldn't bear the idea of him being hungry. He seemed surprised when he found me standing at the door. I realised that he wasn't going to be the one to instigate the conversation as he was doing a very good fish impression. I offered him the food that I had prepared for him. I asked if he had wanted anything else, but he didn't reply so I took his answer to be a no, so I left. Half way down the corridor when I heard him call my name. Rather than turn around, I found myself walking faster. It seemed that I wasn't walking fast enough as he had caught up quite quickly. I was terrified of what he has to say.

I had told him that anything between us would be improper, and was expecting him to agree. This however, did not happen and he said the exact opposite, by declaring the fact he loved me. He had apparently always known that I was a maid, but this hadn't stopped his feelings develop for me. I felt my heart lift, as not only did he return my feelings (not that he knew my feelings towards him) but he didn't care about my position at the institute. It was still improper but at least he was happy to ignore the technicalities. He begged me to talk to him, and that's how we ended up sitting on his floor drinking tea and eating sandwiches. He had been horrified when he had found out that I hadn't eaten and insisted that I took some of the food, which I did.

As we sat there, he told me a very personal account of what had happened that morning, and how it had made him feel. I felt my heart melt slightly for him. He went onto say how much he enjoyed spending time with me, and how my rejection of him last night made his heart break. Hearing that made my own heart break. When he listed all the reasons he loved me, I couldn't help but smile. No one had ever said such nice things to me, so hearing them from Gideon made them even more special. I didn't want this moment to the end, but when I caught sight of the clock I knew I had been away from my duties for far too long. As much as it pained me, I left Gideon on the floor of his room.

I hurried to the kitchen where I found Bridget starting to prepare the meal. She looked as though she was about to scold me for my absence but then acknowledged just who much I was smiling so thought better of it. As I grabbed the cutlery, ready to set the table she started singing one of her many horrible ballads. I had just left the kitchen and wasn't looking where I was going, which resulted in me crashing into a strong mass of human…or rather Shadowhunter. Not just any Shadowhunter, but Gideon. I found myself blushing, but he only seemed to smile, realising that I hadn't done it intentionally. He held out the tray with the plates and cups that I had brought to his room earlier "Señorita Collins (Miss Collins) it appears you left this behind. What do you want me to do with it?" he asked. How was he this lovely? I placed the cutlery on the tray and carried it to the dining room, with Gideon following me like an obedient puppy.

"Does she always sing such depressing songs?" Gideon asked. I turned to see him wincing, as though in pain. I nodded, "unfortunately so" I answered. He didn't look that impressed. "Mi Dios, ¿qué he hecho para merecer esto" (My God what did I do to deserve this?" he said. I may not speak Spanish, but by going from his facial expression, I doubt he was being all that complimentary to Bridget. I was making my way round the table, putting the cutlery out. I could feel his eyes following me. "Are you sure that he doesn't sing anything more happy?" he asked again, as Bridget's voice floated down the corridor, as she started another song. I nodded "Yes I'm sure. Just do what the rest of us do and try and drown it out" I replied. By this point I had made it back round the table, meaning I was standing next to Gideon. He cupped my face with his hand looked straight into my eyes. I had never seen eyes that were such a beautiful green. They were beautiful. He whispered, "I think I can manage that when I am with you" then lowered his head and kissed my lips. I found myself kissing him back, my hands resting on his chest.

We broke apart on hearing a start of angry Welsh from the door "Yr wyf yn tyngu pawb yn institite hwn yw mewn cariad â rhywun arall. Mae hyd yn oed y forwyn yn mynd yn fwy weithredu na fi. Erbyn duw, bydd yn rhaid i fi cusanu Bridget" (I swear everyone in this institute is in love with someone else. Even the maid is getting more action than me. By god, I'll have to kiss Bridget) I turned to see Will standing there, not looking to happy. He then turned and stormed out of the room. Gideon smirked, "Someone's not happy" he said and moved his hands to his arms were loosely round my neck. I rolled my eyes "Will is never happy" I replied, and Gideon nodded in agreement. "That's true. I believe we were in the middle of something before we were so rudely interrupted by a miserable Welshman" he stated, and before I had time to reply, we were kissing again. When we broke for air, we returned to the kitchen to return the tray and finish laying the table.

 **Poor Will. Let me know if there is anything you want to see in future chapters, It can be characters or events from the books, or just an idea you have had. Hope you enjoyed this latest paragraph!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guest: Thank you for your review :) I have to agree, Will should be more protective. In the last chapter, he is trying to work out how to have a positive relationship with people again. He knows there was no curse so doesn't have to push people away. I've started this chapter with him realizing that he shouldn't have said what he did. Yes he spoke Welsh, but he still said what he did. We get to see his protective feelings for Sophie in a conversation between him and Gideon. Even though it's not mentioned, he keeps a watchful eye of the pair as the relationship develops to make sure that Sophie doesn't get hurt.**

 **I'm continuing with the creative license that I really began using in the last chapter, meaning that I won't be using certain points from the books the main characters in this story are involved with. I will also be merging two points into one as I feel it would be better suited to the story more that way. It does mean that certain things happen here sooner than how they did in the books.**

 **Like I said in the last chapter, I own nothing but the plot. This chapter does include a certain incident with a worm, so I used some of the conversation used in the book for the simple reason I found it amusing. That belongs to the author. Onto the chapter:**

***Will P.O.V***

Having spent five years having to control my emotions, knowing how to feel, the events of the last few weeks had left me feeling very confused. Firstly, with the help of Magnus, I realized that the curse wasn't real. When I admitted this to Tessa and declared my feelings towards her, putting my heart very on my sleeves she told me she didn't return my feelings and she was engaged to Jem. I had never felt so crushed in my entire life as I did in that moment. If the situation couldn't get any worse, it seemed as though everyone in the institute seemed adamant on reminding me on what I could never have, as they were falling I love and were showing this through public displays of affection.

One such case involved me walking into the dining room, to find Sophie and Gideon kissing. As Sophie didn't appear to be pushing Gideon away I can only presume that she was enjoying it. In my anger and the situation, I found myself saying something unreasonable. It may have been in Welsh, but Sophie hadn't deserved it. Gideon maybe as he was a Lightworm, but Sophie had been through enough without my comments adding to it. I'd hurt her enough and I was determined to make sure Gideon didn't hurt her. The institute already had one heartbroken soul moping about, it didn't need another one, and I was determined to make sure it didn't happen to Sophie.

After we had finished eating, I asked Gideon for a word in private. He seemed reluctant but eventually agreed. We had found an empty corridor when I turned on him. I decided that I wasn't going to waste any time and cut to the chase. "Do you love Sophie?" I asked. Gideon's face just seemed to light up when I said Sophie's name, but it quickly changed to one of slight embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?" he asked. I found myself rolling my eyes. "Well you were kissing in the dining room earlier so I'd say yes. If you love her, you shouldn't be embarrassed. Hurt her on the other hand and I will make sure you will never live it down." I said firmly. My words seemed to cause a mixture of emotions from Gideon: relief that I seemed to accept his feelings for Sophie but confusion when I talked about him hurting her.

"You have to trust me when I say I have no intention of hurting her, but I'm not sure why you care so much. I thought you didn't like her" Gideon replied. It was a fair point, seeing as I had spent so much time pushing people away and hurting them in the process. "Sophie has been hurt enough. Some of that hurt I am ashamed to admit came from me, but there was a lot of hurt that didn't. I hurt Sophie because I thought I was cursed. Unfortunately not everyone has that excuse. I don't want Sophie to suffer more than she needs to" I responded. Gideon looked horrified. "Who hurt Sophie?" he asked. I shook my head, I knew what had happened, but I also knew it wasn't my story to tell, but Sophie's. She would tell him when she was ready. "It's not for me to say. Sophie's past is her own, she'll will tell you when she feels the time is right" I said, and with that, I walked off.

***Gideon P.O.V***

It had been a few weeks since my conversation with Will about Sophie. His comments about her past pain kept going round in my head. I knew, without asking, he had been referring to the scar on her cheek. I hadn't questioned Sophie about how she had got it, as, like Will said, she will tell me in her own time. Not that it mattered to me, the fact she had a scar. She was still the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, scar or no scar. What did matter however, was that someone had intentionally hurt her. If I ever found out who it was, I would make them suffer.

We had been surprised when one day Will's younger sister had shown up. The resemblance to her brother, I have to admit was slightly unnerving. She was a shorter, female version of Will. Will, it seemed hadn't been too happy about Cecily's arrival. Actually, that was an understatement, he had been furious, and demanded she go back to Wales. Cecily, had refused "Efallai eich bod wedi gadael i mi, ond nid fi wedi fwriad i wneud yr un peth i chi" (You may have deserted me but i have not intention of doing the same to you) she'd snapped. Not having the ability to speak Welsh, I had no idea what she had said, but I doubt it had been good. Will then shouted "peidiwch â siarad am yr hyn nad ydych yn deall. Os ydych yn gwybod y gwir ni fyddech yn fan hyn" (do not speak of what you do not understand. If you knew the truth you would not be here) and with that he had stormed out of the room. Cecily hadn't returned to Wales as Will had hoped, much to his annoyance.

As time had gone on, everyone at the institute had realised something was going on between me and Sophie. At the start, Sophie had assumed that, once people found out, they wouldn't approve. As it turned out, quite the opposite had happened. They had completely and utterly accepted it, with Charlotte saying it was nice we had a positive person who cared about us in our lives. Sophie and I had been talking in my room when Jem had come to my door and informed me my Brother had arrived, and was in quite a state "he won't leave until he has spoken to you" Jem had said, in a tone that indicated it was a matter that urgently needed dealing with.

I had gone charging off to where Jem had said Gabriel was. I heard him before I saw him. Jem had been right, he had worked himself into a state. When he realized I was there, he seemed to calm down somewhat but was still all over the place. Rather than giving me a normal greeting, the first words were to me were "Father is a worm" which confused me. Will had entered by this point and laughed, actually laughed. "We know, so glad you have finally come round to our way of thinking" he said, which only worked Gabriel up more, he looked at me, his eyes begging me to understand "You don't understand father is a worm" he said again. I shook my head. "I know Gabriel. He was responsible for our mothers death and was sleeping around with demons" I replied, confused as to why Gabriel felt the need to tell us something we already knew and why he was so worked up about it. Gabriel on the other hand, just seemed upset that no one was understanding "why aren't you listening to what I am saying. Father is a worm" I was about to tell him repeating what he was saying wasn't going to help matters when Charlotte spoke "Gabriel, it seems that you aren't calling your father a worm in a manner to insult him, might I ask instead if you mean to tell us he has, quite literally turned into a Worm?" she asked.

The relief on Gabriel's face than finally someone seemed to understand was obvious to all who saw. "Yes Charlotte that's exactly what I mean. My father has turned into a giant demonic worm, he had been getting progressively worse then one day he was no longer a Shadowhunter but a worm" he said. I stormed over, took my brother by the shoulders and shook him "If he was getting worse why didn't you say anything? We could have helped. Why did you stay with that monster que niño tonto (you stupid boy)" it was Charlotte that spoke next. "Gideon now is not the time. You and Gabriel will go over to Chiswick with Henry, Will and Jem and deal with the matter in hand" she said, clearly not wanting me to do any damage to Gabriel. It was probably for the best.

At some point we had been joined by Cecily and Tessa. Tessa bless her had been trying on a wedding dress when Gabriel had turned up, and as she had wanted to know what all the fuss was about, so had ended up showing us, meaning she couldn't wear it to the wedding, which was a shame, it really did suit her. Had Gabriel not had his attention caught by Cecily, and insisted that he just stare at her, I wouldn't have realised she had entered. I realised that the pair hadn't actually met, so took it upon myself to do introductions. "Gabriel this is Will's sister Cecily. Cecily this is my brother Gabriel. I apologise that you had to meet in such circumstances as this." I said. Gabriel seemed to recoil slightly when I mentioned Cecily was Will's sister, but surely he saw the resemblance as we all did. Also, did it mean what I thought it did? But now was not the time to ponder on such matters as to whether my brother may or may not have taken a sudden liking to William Herondale's sister.

It was Cecily who spoke first "If you're going on a demon raid I want to go" she stated. Tessa nodded "I'm coming to" she added. Unfortunately, if what Gabriel said was true, and I had every reason to think it was, we didn't have enough time to argue against the pair. Which was how we all managed to end up going on a worm hunt at Chiswick. At first, there didn't seemed to be anything obviously wrong. The Blackthorn carriage as outside, meaning that my sister, Tatiana was about. Things had suddenly, somehow gotten worse.

Henry and Tessa had taken it upon themselves to search the manor and the rest of us had taken on the job of hunting down and killing the demonic worm that was roaming the property. I have no idea who spotted it first, but before I knew it we had engaged in a fight with a monster. Gabriel hadn't been lying when he had said it was giant. We really needed all the people working together to defeat it. Despite having practically no training, Cecily I had to admit (though I wouldn't say it to Will) proved her worth. She had jumped on the Worms head and distracted it long enough for Gabriel to fatally shoot the beast in the eye. It seemed that I had so much adrenaline in body that I hadn't realized I had seriously injured my leg until we were half way back to carriages and my leg gave way, causing me to fall to the floor. As Jem had taken ill, Will had to carry him back to the carriage, and I ended up being supported by Cecily and Gabriel.

Tessa and Henry were helping Tatiana into a carriage when we came into sight. Tessa, as expected ran to help Will with Jem, whereas Henry help me. The injury was losing a lot of blood, so not only had I lost the ability to walk, I was also struggling to stay awake. A struggle I ultimately lost. When I woke I found myself in my room with Gabriel and Sophie. I'd been out for a couple of hours apparently. Realising I had come round, and was on the mend, Gabriel promptly left, leaving me alone with Sophie. She was sitting by my bedside and could see the pain on my face when my brother left. "Let him have his space. He lost his father and for a brief period thought he was going to lose his brother. He's been excessively applying you with runes for healing and blood loss, he's been that scared for you, as have I for that matter, but unlike Gabriel there was nothing I could do" she whispered. I could hear the fear in her voice like an ache in my heart. Cupping her face in my hand I said softly "Lo siento por usted asustar a mi amor" then kissed her. Despite not speaking Spanish, she seemed to understand what I had said.

I suddenly remembered that I had not been the only casualty "how is Jem?" I asked, then regretted it. Sophies face fell, she had always thought highly of Jem. "He's bad. The worst he's been since he got to the Institute actually. We think this might be it" she said. Bad things like an addiction to yin fen, which killed you at 17 years of age shouldn't happen to good people like Jem. If he died, it would affect us all. Will and Tessa in particular. "Lo siento" (I'm sorry) I found myself saying. Benedict Lightwood had been my father, and in a battle to end his life, Jem was now in a battle for his, and I felt to some extent responsible.


	6. Chapter 6

**A short update from Sophie as she was missing from the last Chapter. Please review if there is anything you particularly liked or disliked about the fanfiction to help me improve it.**

***Sophie P.O.V***

The days after the battle at Chiswick were shrouded in tension and misery. Jem hadn't improved, and seemed to be getting worse. Gideon too was in a sorry state. Despite both by and Gabriel's best efforts, the wound to his leg had become infected and he had developed a fever. I refused to leave his side, and I heard that Will was refusing to leave Jems. When Gideon's fever was at its worse, she would often call out in Spanish. I had asked Tessa to get me a Spanish dictionary so I could attempt to understand what he was saying. He would often call for a "Madre" which I learnt was the Spanish word for mother. Whenever he said it, my heart broke, knowing his mother was dead. The changing point was when he looked at me and asked "Madre es que se" which meant Mother is that you. I was about to say no, when his eyes seemed to see properly for the first time. "No, es Sophie. Mi ángel de Gardian. Mis aplogies mi amor (No, it's Sophie. My Guardian Angel. My apologies my love) When I had worked out what he had said, I promptly burst into tears. Somehow I managed to whisper through my tears "Gideon you have nothing to be sorry for".

It was a couple more days before the fever had passed and Gideon's leg began to show real signs of improvement. Gideon had slept through most of the time he had been ill. I was putting a wet cloth onto his forehead when he had woken up. "Sophie?" he croaked and I had automatically turned to get him a glass of water to ease his throat when he caught my wrist, causing me to turn back and look at him. "Yes Gideon" I asked as I sat on the side of his bed. His eyes seemed to be drinking me in. "Have you been here the entire time I've been injured and delirious?" he asked. I felt a lump forming so I just nodded. "Gracias" (thank you) he said, and then "Dicen que la perfección no existe y sin embargo me encuentro mirando directamente a él" I frowned in confusion. Maybe he still was delirious as he was still speaking Spanish. Seeing my confusion, he translated "They say that perfection does not exist and yet I find myself looking straight at it" which made me blush.

"I assure you that I am far from perfect" I said, finding my voice at last. At that, Gideon propped himself onto one of his elbows and cupped my face with his other hand. "You are quite right, you are beyond perfect, and you are my guardian angel" he said, which caused me to smile, which in turn caused him to look confused. "You called me that when you were ill. Only you said it in Spanish" I said by way of an explanation. Gideon nodded at the memory, then looked somewhat embarrassed. "I remember. I think that was after I accidently asked you if you were my mother" he said. "Sorry about that" he said. I smiled at him. How could someone be so sweet? I shook my head "You have nothing to be sorry for" I said. He then pulled my face closer to his, whispered "Te amo" (I love you) then we were kissing. It was bliss.

When we finally broke, he brought his fingers to my scar, and traced it softly with them. I could have used my hair to hide it, as I had done on so many occasions before, but I was tired of hiding it away, so I moved my hair away so it was fully on show. "What happened?" he asked softly. His voice was still croaky so as I got him a glass of water, I told him. Half way through the story, I passed him the glass and resumed sitting on the bed. "It was before I came to the Institute, at my last place of work. The son of my last employer had taken a fancy to me, but I didn't return the feelings. One day he pushed his luck, and I snapped and slapped him. He grabbed a knife and slashed my face saying "If I can't have you no one can" and until you, I believed that. I went to his mother, but he manipulated the situation, saying that I had tried to seduce him, and he was trying to protect his virtue. Of course his mother believed him, and cast me and my bleeding face to the streets. Charlotte found me, a few days later. The silent brothers were able to cure the infection but…it was too late to prevent the scare from forming."

I finished my story, expecting Gideon to be repulsed or say that he didn't see it or some other rubbish. But he didn't. He just stared. It was slightly unnerving so I started babbling to fill the silence. "There was a time when I had a burning desire to become a Shadowhunter, so that if anyone else came at me with a knife I could defend myself. As time went on I realised that this could not happen. Charlotte has given me so much over the years I couldn't possibly throw it back in her face and leave her service" I said. By this point Gideon realised that I was babbling, and put a finger to my lips, stopping me from continuing from talking. I was expecting him to say I was being ridiculous. Looking into my eyes he asked "do you still want to be a Shadowhunter?" Not the response I had expected at all was. I nodded "More than anything" I answered honestly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Guest: Thank you so much for your review of Chapter five. I'm so happy you like the story and look forward to the daily updates. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.**

 **Onto Chapter 7 for you lovely readers. It includes Gideon's perspective of his injury and fever, and some brotherly reconciliation of Gabriel and Gideon.**

 **I own nothing but the plot. If there is anything you like, or want to see improve, review so I can make sure that I can improve in any way I can.**

***Gideon P.O.V***

I'd woken up from my fever to find Sophie standing over me, placing a wet cloth on my forehead. It seemed almost too good to be true. "Sophie?" I asked. I found myself begging that it really was Sophie, and not my mind playing tricks and being delusional because of the fever, as I know it had been. "Yes Gideon" she said. I felt my heat lift, she was here and was real. She had turned to get me a drink, but I didn't want water, I wanted her. She sat herself on the side of my bed. I thought I had been aware of her presence whilst I had been ill, but needed to know if she had really been there. When she confirmed she had, I swear I couldn't have been more grateful for having such an amazing person in my life. She was perfect, and when I told her as such, she seemed to brush this off. If Sophie had one failing it was that she didn't think highly enough of herself.

I then referred to her as a guardian angel, which made her smile, only I realized that it probably wasn't for the reasons I'd initially thought, as I vaguely remembered calling her that in Spanish, having gotten her confused with my mother (I'd thought she was my mother, then on realizing the person I was talking to was Sophie, I called her my guardian Angel and apologized. When I apologized again only this time in English, she told me I had nothing to be sorry for, which then in turn caused me to tell her that I loved her. I brought her face to mine, and we were kissing. I could feel her cool lips on my flushed ones. It was perfect.

When we finally broke, Sophie confessed to me how she had gotten her scar. I felt sick. What kind of jealous monster would take a knife to her face because she had standards, then blame her for the event. In that moment I knew that if I ever came across him, I would make him suffer for what he did to my Sophie. I was so horrified by what she had said, when she finished, I just sat in a stunned silenced, which caused her to start babbling to fill the silence, and admitted she had wanted to become a Shadowhunter, but had never said anything to anyone as she hadn't want to let Charlotte down, after everything she had done for her. When I asked if she still had this desire to be a Shadowhunter, she responded with "more than anything" I knew in that moment I would do whatever was necessary to make her dream come true. If anyone deserved that, Sophie did.

We spoke a bit longer, when Sophie decided to leave me and went to get Gabriel. I wanted Sophie to stay, I felt like I had nothing to say to my brother, but according to Sophie we needed to talk. I had put a barrier up between myself and Benedict. I couldn't do the same to my brother. Sophie's advice hadn't failed me in the past, so I knew I had to take her word for it. Sophie hadn't been gone long when Gabriel entered. I surprised when I saw him, he seemed to be a shadow of what he had been the last time I had seen. In that moment I knew Sophie had been right, I couldn't put a barrier up now. Gabriel needed me to be the older Brother I had to be. "Sophie has informed me you seem to be on the mend" he commented by way of instigating a conversation. I nodded. "You are correctly informed. As I understand it I have you to thank for that" I replied, causing Gabriel to shrug. "Sophie helped" he said. This surprised me. The Gabriel I knew would jump at an opportunity to claim the credit. This new modesty surprised me. Gabriel had changed so much in the time that I had been ill.

"Take a seat" I said, which he did, although somewhat awkwardly. "You've changed Gabriel. How are you?" I asked. Gabriel frowned, seemingly confused for my concern. "Why do you care? You turned your back on all things Lightwood" he said, which sounded more like something the Gabriel would say. I shook my head "I turned my head on all things to do with Benedict, and as you chose to stay loyal to him, that meant my back was turned to you. Sophie has told me that you have changed your loyalties, and are now staying at the institute. I failed you as a brother, I know that" I said. Gabriel had turned his head, so he was no longer looking at me. When he looked back, it was obvious that he was holding back on his emotions. "You didn't fail me Gideon. You saw the truth and tried to get me to see it too. I was blind and I failed to see through my own stupidity. You've got everything I wanted by leaving when you did, friends who accept you hear at the Institute, and a very deserving woman in Sophie who is completely loves you. She hasn't left your side since we returned from Chiswick. As your brother that should have been me, but I was too much of a coward, so I would only see you to apply a few runes then run back to the training room where I've been training Cecily"

He immediately stopped talking at the mention of Cecily. The look on his face told me he felt he had said too much. I raised my eyebrows. Gabriel with Will's Sister? Then I remembered Gabriel first laid eyes of Cecily. Had my earlier suspicion been correct? Had Gabriel been developing feelings for Cecily? "Do you enjoy training Cecily?" I asked. He seemed to pause, trying to work out why I was interested and why I was following it up. The reason was simple: I wanted my brother to be happy. "Very much so. Training her as been the one good thing I've had since I moved here. She makes me forget I killed our father" he said. I found myself shaking my head at Gabriel. "That worm was not our Father. You killing it was you following your duty as a Shadowhunter by killing a demon. I know how you feel about Cecily, I felt the same about Sophie. If you want to be with her and pursue any feelings you may develop for her, you have my support." Once I had finished, he thanked me, then mumbled something about having to go train then left, and sent Sophie back in.

***Sophie P.O.V***

After admitting my deepest wish to Gideon, we spoke a bit more. I decided that I would inform Gabriel that his brother was better, and get the pair to talk. Gideon was reluctant at the prospect, but I told him, given everything that happened, putting a barrier between him and Gabriel would do no favors. Thankfully he trusted my words of wisdom, so agreed. I left and went to find Gabriel. I had guessed who would be in the training room, and it seemed my guess had been correct. Having knocked on the door to announce my presence, and entered. When Gabriel turned to look at me. "Your brother has woken up and shows signs of being on the mend. You should go and talk to him" I said. He looked at me, as though processing what I had to say. "Does he want to talk to me? He asked. Do I lie, or do I tell him the truth. Knowing Gabriel had been lied to enough, I decided to go with the truth. "I believe it would be a good idea for the pair of you to talk, given everything that has happened. Gideon agrees. It is my belief Master Gabriel that you both have been hurt, and you both need each other. Your brother loves you dearly." Gabriel nodded, and headed towards the door. I followed him out.

We were half way back to Gideon's room when Gabriel started talking again. "It's interesting don't you think? You refer to me as 'Master Gabriel' but when you talk about my brother as just 'Gideon'. Add that to the fact that this the first time you have left him alone since that fateful day. Why is that?" I was initially unsure on how to reply. "It is because, over time, Gideon and I have developed romantic feelings for each other" I said, in the simplest was possible. I was expecting Gabriel to scoff, saying Gideon deserved better. His response surprised me "Good. Gideon needs to know what it feels like to have someone love him, and I'm glad it's you. Saying that, you have the air of someone who has been hurt. I know my brother, and he doesn't give his heart lightly. The fact he has given it to you is a great thing. Sophie you deserve it." When he finished we had gotten to Gideon's room, and I left Gabriel to enter, hoping it did the pair some good.


	8. Chapter 8

***Gideon P.O.V***

My conversation with Sophie about the origins of her scar kept replaying in my mind. Not only had this excuse of a Mundane hurt her physically, leaving the evidence for all to see, he had also hurt her on an emotional level as well. He had left her feeling uncomfortable in the presence of men, especially those who were her employers. No wonder she was sceptical of us at the start. She had thought that no one would want her, but that had changed when I came along. I would never hurt her, as, like Will had said, she'd been hurt enough. The incident had caused her to want to become a Shadowhunter, so she could have the skills to defend herself, but her loyalty to Charlotte had prevented her from voicing this to anyone, until she opened up to me.

I decided that I would be the one to turn her dreams into a reality. Partly because I was the only other person who knew about it, but mainly because I loved her, completely and utterly and wanted her to be happy. Not that she wasn't happy as a maid, but she deserved so much better. I knew Charlotte would understand. Yes she was going to lose a maid, but maids were replaceable, and she would gain an excellent Shadowhunter in Sophie. I'd had trained a number of Shadowhunters in my life, and Sophie was better than so many of them, so I knew she was strong enough for ascension. Once I had fully healed, I would discuss the matter with Charlotte.

My conversation with Gabriel also gave me something to think about. He clearly had a lot of guilt on his mind. He now understood why I had left, But was seemingly struggling to decide how he felt about not leaving earlier. The ting about Gabriel was that if you had his loyalty, he would stand by you, whatever happens. In the majority of cases, this was no bad thing, but a rare occasion would arise in which it would be a terrible thing, and his loyalty to Benedict had been the worst of those rare occasions. In his mind, he was struggling to stop himself from seeing the worm as his father, resulting him thinking he had straight up murdered his own flesh and blood. As you can imagine, that kind of thinking wouldn't sit easy with anyone. It is my understand that I, along with everyone else at the Institute (include Will, and we all knew hoe the pair felt about each other) had tried to convince Gabriel that the demonic worm had been just that, a demonic worm, and by killing it, he was doing his duty as a Shadowhunter. Unfortunately Gabriel was struggling to see that, but we weren't going to give up trying.

Things weren't all doom and gloom where Gabriel was concerned however. Thanks to Sophie we were repairing our relationship. Neither of us wanted to admit it but we needed each other, with Benedict, and Tatiana was blaming us for his death and bringing down the family name. She had moved in with her in-laws. When Gabriel had told me this piece of information, I found myself exclaiming "en buena hora" (Good riddance) which made him smile. I also heard from both Gabriel and Sophie that a budding relationship was developing between Gabriel and Cecily, not that Will had found out. Gabriel had been reluctant to allow his feelings to turn into anything, but the more time he had spent in each others company was making this more and more difficult.

The day that they had gone shopping to get some stuff for Jem, only to find out he was going to be a silent brother was the day he decided to stop pushing away his feelings and allow whatever happened to happen. That had been the only thing to come out of that fateful day. Despite my own recovery, I hadn't had the chance to talk to Charlotte about Sophie, due to Jem's worsening health, I thought it be insensitive to discuss such matters. Instead I offered to so whatever I could to help. Will had vanished, presumably to Wales to save Tessa (she had been taken the day I was deemed well enough to leave my bed. The automatons were getting stronger, which wasn't a good sign) which meant he had to suffer the loss of his parabati alone. I may not have always like Will, but I truly felt horrible for him. There are some things you don't suffer alone, that being one of them.

***Sophie P.O.V***

Once Gideon had healed and was back to full health I returned to my duties. Tessa had been taken by automatons, Will had gone charging off to Wales to save her, and Jem's health was failing. He had made the choice to become a Silent Brother and the day they had come to collect him was a dark day for the institute. As I had spent so much time in Gideon's company when he had been recovering, he hadn't taken my returning to my chores all that well. He often tried to help me with them like an obedient puppy in order to spend time with him. I admit, I had grown used to his company, so his helping me was very much appreciated. We would often steal a kiss in an empty corridor or room whenever we could as neither of us were fans of public displays of affection.

We were in the dining room, and Charlotte, Henry, Cecily, Gabriel and Gideon were having breakfast when Gideon made an announcement that changed my life. Charlotte had received a letter from the Consul informing her that he would not be sending any Shadowhunters to Wales on a weak bit of evidence sent by a seventeen year old. It would mean that Charlotte was left with the Shadowhunters round the table. I pointed out that Bridget, Cyril and I had all had training and were prepared to fight. Gideon then came out with the comment "It's a shame really, about Sophie not being a Shadowhunter, not only is she one of the best people I have had to train, and if she isn't a Shadowhunter, how am I supposed to marry her?" Everyone stared at him, and my mouth dropped open, He seemed to realize what he had said, and shot me an apologetic look.

Charlotte looked over at me "would you like that Sophie dear?" she asked. I found myself sounding rather stupid by asking "the Shadowhunter part or the marriage part?" which caused Charlotte to smile. "Let's start with the Shadowhunter part" she said, which caused me to give an embarrassed smile. "Well yes. I would like to be a Shadowhunter, I've wanted to become one since I began working here, but I never asked as I didn't want to kept you down, after everything you have done for me" I admitted, which caused Charlotte to give me a sad smile. "Sophie if it's what you want, I wish you had voiced this to me sooner. I can get a new maid, but can't get a new Sophie. If what Gideon says is true about your training, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, having you ascend will mean I have gained a talented Shadowhunter" she said, which made me feel incredibly happy. She was about to say something else when Cecily ordered everyone out the room. Gideon looked set to leave when she commanded him to stay where he was.

Once they had all left, Gideon turned to look at me. "Sophie mi amor (my love) I'm sorry for my outburst, it was most unlike me. I hadn't intended on saying anything, but my love for you caused me to declare our marriage" I interrupted him promptly. "Gideon, we have nothing as of yet to declare. You have not yet proposed" I stared, a small smile on my lips. He frowned then realized what I had said was true, then got up out of his seat. "Then Sophie a proposal you shall have" he walked round until he was in front of me, then got down on one knee, and took my hand in his. He looked straight into my eyes as he spoke. "Sophie, since returning to London I have hated everything except my time with you. The more I got to know you, the more I fell in love. You are the bravest, kindest and most beautiful woman I have ever met, and my life has been and will continue to be better with you in it. Would you do me the honour of marrying me and become my wife?" I felt a tear slide down my check. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me in my entire life. I nodded "I love you too Gideon, so I will marry you". Gideon's face broke into a radiant smile as he stood up and kissed me on the lips.


	9. Chapter 9

**I apologies for the lack of the lack of an update yesterday. As the number of readers has dropped, I have decided that this will be the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read this story :)**

 **I own nothing but the plot.**

***Sophie P.O.V***

A few months had passed since Gideon's proposal to me. We had joined Will and Tessa in Wales, thanks to Henry's portal and had defeated Mortmain and his army of automatons. Charlotte had become consul, and Will had taken over the Institute. As for me? My application to ascend had been confirmed. When Gideon and I had found out we were over the mood. It had meant our wedding could definitely go ahead. From that day on, I stopped my maid duties and spent the time instead training with Gideon. I was so happy. There had been one day I'd had a wave of anxiety about ascending, but Gideon had calmed me down, saying I had nothing to worry about, and he would be cheering the loudest when I did ascend and became a Shadowhunter. He'd kept true to his word, he really did cheer the loudest, and was the first to congratulate me afterwards. We'd had a party afterwards back at the Institute, and he'd stayed by my side the entire time. It had been the best day of my life, up to that point.

We'd properly started planning our wedding in the New Year. We'd thrown a few ideas round prior to this, but now we had to turn these ideas into a reality. Thankfully we mostly agreed on these ideas so planning was relatively straight forward. We decided on a quiet wedding, as I didn't know many people and Gideon didn't want the rest of the Lightwood clan to show up, and passing judgement on "Benedict's son". As Charlotte would be making the wedding official, I'd asked Tessa to be my maid of honour, which she had accepted. Gideon had asked Gabriel to be his best man, which he accepted. I was happy about that as it meant the brothers relationship had improved considerably. As well as improving his relationship with his brother, Gabriel's relationship with Cecily was blossoming, which Will wasn't too happy about. He eventually accepted it when I reminded him he now had a good reason to hurt Gabriel, not that I encouraged violence.

I'd been out with Tessa to sort out my wedding dress. Neither of us were that clued up on the latest fashions. That had always been Jessamine's area of expertise. Instead, we decided to just focus on the designs that I liked the look of. After looking at a number of dresses, we decided on one. It was simple golden dress that was tight on the top half, but fanned out at the waist. It made me look beautiful and I couldn't wait for Gideon to see me in it. He kept trying to get me and Tessa to give him details about it, but we weren't saying anything. I found it amusing that we knew something about the wedding, and he was trying and failing to get us to tell us. Bless him.

***Gideon P.O.V***

Sophie and I had decided to get married at the end of the spring. When the day finally arrived, I woke feeling both nervous and excited. Nervous because I cared and wanted things to go well, excited because I was marrying Sophie. I felt so proud of her when she ascended, she had achieved her dream and had become the Shadowhunter she deserved to be. From that day on, we'd shared a bed, so waking up the day of the wedding in an empty bed had been odd. I hadn't liked the thought of spending a night away from her, but knowing we would have the rest of our lives together, made it more bearable. Gabriel helped me prepare and calm my nerves.

Standing at the end of the aisle I had to stop myself from turning round when Sophie was walked down by Henry. Gabriel glanced a look and whispered "wow". It took a lot to impress Gabriel, so the fact he was impressed was definitely a good thing. When Sophie finally joined me, and Henry passed her hand over, I could see why. She was stunning and it took my breath away. I kept my eyes on her through the ceremony as we drew the wedding runes on each other. When Charlotte had said "you can now kiss the bride" I made the statement proud. Sophie and I were wed, and I couldn't be happier. I held onto her through the meal, speeches and dances, promising to never let her go, and to love her for the rest of my life.

I'd taken he back to Spain for our Honeymoon, and even taken her to the institute in Madrid, who welcomed us back with open arms. She'd understood why I had been so taken with the place in the first place, and had asked me to teach her some of the language so she would could understand what was going on, which I was happy to do. My parents had not had a happy marriage, and I was determined that my marriage to Sophie would not follow the same path. I had started as I meant to continue, and it seemed to be working. Since the wedding Sophie and I hadn't stopped smiling. Life was perfect.


	10. Chapter 10

**Guest: I hate to disappoint, so i may have un-ended my story and written an update, so will get more of these two. I will being writing additional short stories as well as this one. Some will involve Sophie and Gideon, and some will feature some of the other couples in the series, so let me know if there is a relationship you would like to see.**

 **Let me know in the reviews if there is anything people would like to see in this story. Hope you enjoy this section: Sophie and Gideon become parents to a beautiful little girl.**

 **Onto the story. I hope you enjoy. I own nothing but the plot!**

***Gideon P.O.V***

I'll remember the day Sophie told me she was expecting our first child for the rest of my life. If I'm honest, I wasn't expecting it to be so soon into our marriage, but I'm not complaining in the slightest. We had been getting ready for bed when it happened. I'd looped my arms round he neck, kissed her neck and whispered that I loved her. She'd lightly place her hands on my waist and responded with "well I hope you have some love to share Gideon" which caught my attention. I looked her in the eye, my concern clearly on my face "whatever do you mean?" I asked. My brain seemed to stop wanting to stop functioning. She smiled then, so whatever she had to tell me couldn't have been bad. "I am with child Gideon" she said as a matter of fact. I couldn't believe what she had said "pardon" I stuttered. Sophie smiled, and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. "I'm pregnant. We're going to be parents" she said, spelling it out for me. Thankfully my brain seemed to catch up and acknowledge what she had told me.

A grin spread across my face. "Well in that case, I assure you I have plenty enough love, for you and our child" I confirmed, finally getting round to answering her original question, and it seemed to please her. "Do you know how far along you are?" I found myself asking. Sophie shook her head. "I think you can work that one out for yourself" she said. I stood thinking, then it had occurred to me. A few weeks before, we'd visited the institute to see how Charlotte, Henry and Charles were getting on. Where Sophie spent most of the time talking to the parents, I'd been sitting on the floor entertaining their son. I hadn't stopped talking about how amazing it would be to have that: a child which was a combination of you and the person you loved most in the world. Sophie had agreed, and that night we had made love. I nodded "A couple of weeks, from when we visited Henry and Charlotte" I said. Sophie nodded "right first time" she confirmed.

The following months had certainly been an experience of emotions. I'd done whatever I could to help Sophie. I'd held her hair back and patted her back when she was suffering from morning sickness, I'd done all the strenuous tasked that Sophie had done, I'd helped her changed, and done everything I could to relax her and keep her calm. One day, she'd grabbed my hand, and had placed it on her ever expanding stomach. I was confused at first, then felt it: a kick. I had looked up at Sophie, with my eyes wide in absolute amazement. In that moment, the fact I was going to be a father suddenly felt very real. When our baby kicked again, I just place my forehead on the bump, tears streaming down my eyes. Sophie cradled me head in her hands, as we just stayed like that for a few more moments.

***Sophie P.O.V***

Gideon had been looking after me since I told him I was pregnant. He wasn't doing it because I was carrying an heir to the family name, but because he wanted to protect me and the child because of his love for us. We'd moved back to the Institute in preparation for delivery. When we'd broken the news to everyone, we found ourselves in the center of a massive group hug. It was nice to know people were happy for us. Charlotte and Tessa promised to help me when the time came, which put both Gideon and my minds to rest, and Will and Gabriel promised to keep Gideon out of the way. I found myself thinking that in some ways, they had the harder job, as Gideon wouldn't let me go anywhere without him, "in case something happened". It was sweet, if not a little annoying at times.

The time came late one night. We were asleep when I felt a pain in my stomach. I knew what it was: a contraction. Gideon was still fast asleep when the second one happened. They seemed to be coming too quickly, so I shook him awake. He seemed to wave me back to sleep, but I said, with some urgency evident in my voice "Gideon, wake up, it's time" then gasped in pain. This prompted him to sit bolt upright, fully awake. He walked me to the infirmary, having to pause every so often because I was having a contraction. I thought labor was supposed to take hours, but this was going far too fast. Once we had arrived, Gideon kissed me, wished me luck, and then went running off to get help. Once he left, I realized just how frightened I was. He had kept me calm, for so long, and now he was gone, I felt the panic set in.

I didn't have to wait long before Charlotte and Tessa to come bursting in. When they did, I was bent over, gripping the side of the bed in pain. They managed to calm me down and get me on the bed. Tessa had done a check, and told me I was nearly fully dilated. I asked where Gideon was, and was told he was pacing the corridor outside. I hated the fact he had to hear everything going on without being able to do anything. A few minutes later, after checking me again, Tessa informed me I was fully I was fully dilated and could start pushing. That's when the screaming started. I had been told labor was painful, I just wasn't expecting it to be this painful.

***Gideon P.O.V***

When Sophie went into labour, I was terrified. I had spent so much time dedicated to looking after her, it hurt that I couldn't be with her at the last step. Will and Gabriel tried to get me away from the infirmary, so I didn't have to hear what was going on, but having shouted "my wife is in there having my child, I am not going anywhere" at them, I resorted to pacing the corridor. Will and Gabriel tried to calm me down, but once the screaming started, indicated that Sophie was in the process of delivering our child, it was too little too late. I slid down one of the walls, so I was sitting on the floor. I put my head in my hands and whispered "Sophie mi amor lo siento mucho por hacer esto para usted" (Sophie my love I am so sorry for doing this to you). I felt like I had let her down. I had promised I would never hurt her, and yet I had done just that. She was in so much pain, and it was all my fault.

I have no idea how much time had passed, when I was suddenly aware that the screaming had stopped, and had been replaced by crying. Not just any crying, but a baby's cry. I looked up to see both Will and Gabriel staring at me, when the door opened and Charlotte stuck her head. Looking at me, she said "mother and child are alive and well, would you like to say hello?" and without saying anything, I leapt to my feet and went into the infirmary and went straight to Sophie's side. There was a sense of peace around her and the child. She glanced up and looked at me "We have a daughter" she whispered. I took a proper at her and whispered "ella es Hermosa" (she's beautiful) and she was, she really was. She'd inherited my eyes, and Sophie's hair. "Estoy tan orgulloso de ti" (I am so proud of you) I added. Sophie rested her head on my shoulder and we just stared at our daughter. "We made this" she said softly. What she said next surprised me "I was thinking we could call her Barbra, after you mother" she said. I found I had a lump in my throat, and thought to myself "what did I do to deserve this wonderful woman in my life?" Sophie looked at me, and I realized that I hadn't actually answered the question. "Yes, I think that's a wonderful way to honor her" I said. We were then interrupted by Charlotte, announcing Sophie still needed to deliver the afterbirth, and suggested I introduce Barbra to her Uncle and Will. Slowly taking the bundle of blankets that contained my daughter, I left.

Coming out into the corridor, I noticed that Will and Gabriel had been joined by Cecily and Henry. I walked over to Gabriel, looked him in the eyes and asked simply "Would you like to meet your niece Uncle Gabriel?" His face was one I hoped to remember for the rest of my life. I don't think he realized he was going to be an Uncle until I had spoken the words to him just then. He held his arms out, and took her, staring at her face. Glancing up at me, he said "she has your eyes" then went back to staring. It was Cecily who spoke next "have you chosen a name yet?" she asked. I nodded, which caused her to raise an eyebrow "Sophie has suggest we call her Barbra (I looked at Gabriel at this point, saying the name of our mother had caught his attention. I said the next bit more to him rather than to the other three) in honor of our mother. I have agreed" a single tear slide down his check. As I took Barbra back from him Henry seemed to say what they were all thinking. "That's a beautiful idea. Your mother would be proud" I hoped she would be.

Charlotte came out, saying that we could go back in and see Sophie. I went in first and sat on the bed next to her. I passed Barbra back to Sophie, so she could have a cuddle. The other's sat on surrounding beds and chairs and we just talked. Considering how little sleep we had, none of us were tired. It was one of life's precious moments that one wanted to remember. I had my wife and child on one side, and my brother on the other. Despite not being related by blood or marriage, I considered Will, Tessa, Cecily, Charlotte and Henry just as much a part of my family as Gabriel, Sophie and Barbra.


	11. Chapter 11

**don'ttouchmepeasant: I'm so happy you liked the last chapter, and the rest of the story as a whole! We get to see more of Barbara this chapter, and get to meet her sister Eugenia. I hope you like this chapter as much as you seemed to have liked the rest of the story.**

 **Let me know if there is anything you liked, or want to see in the next few chapters!**

 **I own nothing but the plot.**

***Gideon P.O.V***

Since Barbara was born, I have been in an amazing mood, even with all the crying and lack of sleep. Sophie has been an amazing mother to her, seeing to her every need with a smile. The first time I saw my daughter wrapped up in all the blankets in her mother's arms I completely fell in love with her, and every day she gives me a new reason to fall in love with her. The first time she smiled at me (that wasn't the result of wind) made my heart melt. It was the sort of smile that was impossible to ignore and just put you in a better mood. I found myself getting distracted a lot whenever she smiled at me. One day, I found myself pulling faces at her to get one of her faces when I got something better: a giggle. I couldn't believe it at first, so pulled the face again to see if she would do it again, which she did. I picked her up and went to find Sophie.

When I found her, I burst out "Sophie look at this" then pulled a face. Sophie had expected one of Barbara's smiles, so had a look of confusion when I came charging in to pull a face at our daughter, but when she giggled, Sophie's face broke into a smile. "Is Daddy's face funny?" she asked, stocking Barbra's face with a finger, which she grabbed with one of her chubby hands. "I think it's funny too!" she added, getting a mock frown from me. We the continued to make her giggle until it was time to put her down for a nap. Once I had made sure she was asleep, I came back and hugged Sophie. "I think her laugh is the most beautiful sound in the entire world" I stated. Sophie nodded in agreement. "I think you've gotten soft since she was born" she responded with. It was true, I had done, but didn't regret it in the slightest. I wanted to be the opposite of Benedict. He had been hard, not only towards me, but to Gabriel and to a lesser extent Tatiana. We rarely felt loved by him, but I wanted my own daughter to know what it felt like to have a loving family.

Since Barbara's birth, Gabriel had been making frequent visits to see his niece. Sometimes he would come round under the presence he had matters to discuss with me, sometimes his excuse was a poor one "I was in the neighborhood" type of thing, and sometimes he just outright admitted he was just here to see her. It made me smile the fact he wanted to spend so much time with her. Once Gabriel had been reunited with Barbara, there was honestly no separating the pair, it was clear that Barbara was as fond of her Uncle as he was of her, meaning he got a lot of giggles when he came round. When she began to learn to speak, Gabriel was promptly knighted "Unkee Gabby" much to my amusement.

If I had one regret, I was that Tatiana was not around to develop a relationship with her niece as Gabriel was doing. When I voiced this to everyone, they told me I had nothing to regret. We had informed Tatiana of the existence of Barbara, informing her she was more than welcome to meet her, but she had declined the invitation. She was still stupid enough to blame Gabriel and I for the murder of Benedict, despite being told benedict had brought about his own death, and the demonic worm we had killed was not the man she had grown up viewing as her father. Some people, I guess were not to be told. However I had been close to my sister growing up so it pained me somewhat that she had turned had turned her back on me. I was grateful at least I was close with Gabriel.

***Sophie P.O.V***

Every challenge Barbara presented us, Gideon and I faced together, from the late night feeds, to constantly following her when she went on the move, to teaching her how to speak. We never saw it as a problem. For every task she presented us, she presented a hundred more reasons to love her, from smiling, to giggling to cuddles. She was a very lovable baby, meaning that whoever laid eyes on her just fell in love with her. I found myself falling in love with my little family every single day. Seeing the bond between Gabriel and Gideon, and Will and Cecily, I couldn't help but wish Barbara had that: a sibling to love and play with. Company from someone her own age she could unite with. I mentioned this to Gideon, who completely agreed with me. We made love that night, which resulted in the conception of our second child.

Having already done the pregnancy thing once, I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was wrong. This pregnancy was so much worse than the first one. The morning sickness started earlier, and seemed to have returned with a vengeance. The bigger I got, the worse back ached. It had ached when I had been pregnant with Barbara, bit certainly not this bad. I would have waves of dizziness, which definitely hadn't been present the first time round. Sometimes I felt so bad that I simply stayed in bed. Barbara, despite her young age seemed to know something was wrong, and would often demand Gideon bring her in to see me for cuddles, which was nice. Things got so bad Gideon summoned one of the Silent Brothers to check me out. Thankfully it was Brother Zachariah (not that any of us called him that, we all insisted on calling him Jem much to the annoyance of the other brothers) who paid me a visit. Although there was nothing seriously wrong with me, he suggested that I rest and allow Gideon to look after me.

I thought Gideon had been protective the first time round, but he had certainly become more so this time round. I worked relentlessly, somehow balancing clave duties, being both a mother and father to Barbara and looking after me. Although I did help with looking after Barbara, Gideon took the bulk of the work. I once asked him if there was anything he wouldn't do, to which he responded with "para usted mi ángel que haría cualquier cosa para mantener a salvo" (for you my angel I'd do anything to keep you safe). Gideon had taught me enough Spanish by this point to work out what he had said. We'd agreed that he teach Barbara to speak Spanish, so I would often hear him talking to her in Spanish. Near the end of my pregnancy, when he hadn't wanted to leave me, he'd sit in our room cradling her singing Spanish lullabies when he thought I was asleep.

Like the first time round, we'd moved back to the institute just before I was due to give birth. I'd asked Charlotte if Gideon could be with me when I gave birth. Although it was not conventional to have a man present during labor, Charlotte had known of my difficult pregnancy so agreed. Gabriel and Cecily had agreed to look after Barbara so Gideon could look after me. That's what I loved about our family at the Institute: we looked after each other.

Barbara had been playing with us when the time came. Gideon had picked he up whispering "La mamá va a tener su pequeño hermano o hermana, te necesito para quedarse con el tío Gabriel ahora." (Mummy's going to have your little brother or sister, I need you to stay with Uncle Gabriel now.) Just before she left, she looked over Gideon's shoulder and blew me a kiss. I knew I was going to get through this, for her sake if not for anything else. Gideon returned with Charlotte, and together they helped me to the infirmary, where Tessa was waiting for us. I had a feeling this labor would be more like what I had been expecting my first labor to be like: slow, painful and tiring.

As it turned out, my gut instinct had been right as I had been in labor for 12 hours by the time I gave birth to our second daughter: Eugenia. She was the opposite to her sister in the sense she had my eyes and Gideon's hair, but she was just as beautiful. Once the after birth had been delivered, Gideon went to break the news to everyone and collect Gabriel and Barbara. As this labor had been longer than my first, we decided it be best to limit how many guests we had, and how long they were there for. Whilst Gideon was gone, I stared down at the baby in my arms. I was overwhelmed by how much I loved her already, and she had only been born a matter of minutes. I looked up as the door opened, and Gideon walked in, holding Barbara, with Gabriel following them. As they approached, Gideon whispered "Ven a conocer a su hermana pequeña" (Come meet your baby sister) then sat on the bed, with her on his lap. Gabriel pulled up a chair on the other side of me. Barbara looked at her sister, and we collectively sucked in our breath, wondering how she was going to react. She lent forward and gently kissed her sister on the cheek. To our relief she had accepted her, and seemed to love her as much her as much as we did.


	12. Chapter 12

**Guest: Barbara and "Unkee Gabby" really do have something special, and we get to see more of that in this chapter**

 **don'ttouchmepeasent: Yay, you liked the chapter! This one is more centered around Gabriel and Cecily, but I felt it was the best way to show how Gabriel was reacting to Cecily being pregnant. We do cut back to Gideon when the cousins meet for the first time. The relationship between the cousins will continue to develop in future chapters!**

 **I hope everyone likes this chapter! Let me know if there is anything you like or if there is anything people want to see!**

 **I own nothing but the plot.**

***Gabriel P.O.V***

Seeing how precious my brother's family was made me want one for myself. I'd developed a really good relationship with Barbara after she had been born. I would often go round to visit Gideon just to get a cuddle with her. I fell in love with her the moment Gideon had first walked out with her from the infirmary and had placed her in my arms, as we all did. My relationship with Cecily had been going from strength to strength. When Will had found out that I was courting his younger sister, he seemed to try anything and everything to break us up, but after a conversation with Sophie and Tessa, who pointed out that he was causing Cecily more hurt by trying to break us up, that her being in the relationship in the first place, and by courting his sister, he had a good reason to hurt me if I hurt her, he seemed to accept us. He'd watch us like a hawk, but soon realised that Cecily seemed genuinely happy when she was with me, so relaxed a lot. I know this, because he had told me. Shortly after Barbara's first birthday, and Cecily's eighteenth, I proposed to her, and she had accepted. I'd asked Will's permission beforehand and thankfully he had agreed wholeheartedly. He'd hurt Cecily once by leaving her when they were children, he didn't want to hurt her again by depriving her of the man she loved, he'd told me. We'd been in the training room, and had just finished a training session when I had gotten down on one knee and had asked her to be my wife. Her accepting was one of the best things I had heard.

We'd gotten married six months later. Like my brother before me, and Will and Tessa for that matter, we'd had a small wedding. As Cecily's parents weren't able to come because of the law (she'd cried when Charlotte had told her. I'd held her close, feeling her body shake with the sobs) so Henry had taken her down the aisle as he had done for Sophie and Tessa. Cecily had looked beautiful, as she always did. Just before the wedding, Sophie had graced Gideon with another beautiful daughter they had called Eugenia. I'd fallen in love with her, just as I had done with Barbara. A few months into my marriage to Cecily, she'd fallen pregnant. I'd charged round to Gideon's house to tell him the news, and he was excited at the prospect of my becoming a father, and his becoming an uncle. I'd then joked "If I'm Unkee Gabby, does that mean your Unkee Giddy?" Gideon had double up laughing at that, so I took that as a yes. Barbara was like that, constantly giving us reason to laugh.

During the pregnancy I felt myself turning into my brother, as I had increased my protection of Cecily out of my love for her and our unborn child. She'd liked it at first, but soon got irritated. She wanted to carry on as normal as much as she could, I didn't let her. I remember Gideon telling me how amazing it had been to feel both the girls kick for the first time. I thought it was a bit weird, but when Cecily had taken my hand and had placed it on her stomach, only to feel a kick, I completely understood what my brother had said, it really did feel amazing. A small child, that was part of me, was growing in my wife and I had just felt it move. This of course had increased the protection yet again, which didn't impress Cecily in the slightest.

Following in the footsteps of my brother, we returned to the institute in preparation for Cecily to have our child. This meant that Cecily had both Will and I being incredibly protective of her. When she finally went into labour, I panicked. How did everyone know what to do? The fact that Cecily kept crying out in pain didn't help. Apparently it has happening too quickly. Cecily ended up screaming at me "Rwy'n cael ein plentyn rydych idiot wneud rhywbeth". Realising she had spoken in welsh, she translated into English "I'm having our child you idiot do something". Something in me changed, and I calmed down and seemed to know what to do. I picked her up and carried her to the infirmary, then went charging off to get help. Tessa and Charlotte went to help Cecily, and Henry offered to send word to Gideon and Sophie. That left me and Will pacing the corridor outside the infirmary. I was about to ask him what he was doing when I realized: it wasn't just my wife in there having my child, it was his sister, having either his niece or nephew. We could hear every one of Cecily's screams, and each one killed me on the inside. I had done that to her and I hated myself for it.

One of her screams had been louder than the others, causing me to punch a wall. I was about to punch it again when a hand grab my wrist. I turned to see who it was: Gideon. Rather than scolding me, he just looked at me with understanding eyes. He'd gone through this twice, he knew what I was thinking and feeling. I took Barbara from him and held her close. She always made me feel calm. The screaming then stopped a baby's cry could be heard. I didn't wait to be given the go ahead, I just returned Barbara to Gideon and went charging in. Cecily was lying on a bed, her hair sticking to her neck and temples with sweat. On her chest was a tiny little baby. I slowly walked over to her, not taking my eyes off her. Cecily looked up at me, and smiled "We have a daughter Gabriel" she whispered. She'd inherited my eyes and her mother's hair. I don't think I have ever loved someone so much in my entire life. "Onid yw hi'n hardd?" (Isn't she beautiful?) Cecily whispered. We had talked about names, choosing one girl name and one boy name. "Hello Anna" I said. It had been the first time I'd spoken since I had entered.

***Gideon P.O.V***

Sometime after Gabriel had gone charging in, he remerged from the infirmary, announcing that Will and I had gained a niece called Anna. When he asked if we would like to meet her, there was no real option, of course we did! Will and I followed Gabriel in. As Barbara had just mastered walking, she wanted to walk about as much as possible to show of her new talent. As I had carried her here, I decided to hold her hand, and allow her to walk in and meet her cousin. She took one look at Anna, then turned to look at me exclaiming "Daddy baby!" which made everyone laugh. I knelt down in front of her, making sure that everyone had enough room to come in, held her hands and looked her in the eyes that matched mine so much "Aunty Cecily and Uncle Gabriel have just had a baby. She's your cousin and she's called Anna" I informed her. Barbara seemed to have understood what I had said. She'd also developed a habit of slipping into Spanish without realizing it. Once she had marched over to Cecily and realized she couldn't actually see Anna, she looked at me saying "Sostener" which meant hold. I joined her and picked her up. She took one look at her and said proudly "hello baby Anna" which caused a few laughs. Eugenia had been waving at Anna from the moment Sophie had taken her to meet her cousin, and it seemed to have taken it out of her as she had fallen asleep in her mother's arms.

Cecily had allowed Gabriel to hold Anna, and he was going round the group, introducing the newest member of the family to everyone. I was so proud of him in that moment. When he got to Will, he passed his daughter over, so Will could have a cuddle with his niece. Will didn't take his eyes off her once, and I'm sure I saw a tear fall down his cheek, but I wasn't going to say anything. There was a sense of peace in the room, which seemed like a magic spell no one wanted to break it. Our Institute family had gained a new member, and I had a feeling it would continue to keep growing. But for now, we were just going to celebrate the arrival of Cecily and Gabriel's first child.


	13. Chapter 13

**don'ttouchmepeasent: Thank you for your reviews! They help motivate me to do the updates. I'm so happy you have loved reading the story as much as I have loved writing the story.**

 **CrimzieLightwood: I'm glad you have liked what you have read. I post at least on chapter a day, sometimes twice. Here is the next Chapter.  
**

 **Let me know if there is something you liked, or something you want me to add in the next chapter.**

 **I own nothing but the plot.**

***Sophie P.O.V***

After the birth of Anna, we spent a lot of time with Gabriel and Cecily. Gideon and Gabriel would have to go and deal with the goings on of the clave, and work out how they were going to improve the name of Lightwood, which had become a laughing stock since the actions of their father got out, leaving the girls with myself and Cecily, not that we were complaining. Being able to spend time with our little bundles of joy was definitely worth every second. I certainly was kept more active than Cecily, as both Barbara and Eugenia were able to walk and were constantly on the move. Gideon and Gabriel would often find excuses to come and visit. We knew it was them, as Barbara and Eugenia would set of screaming "papi" (Daddy) and was shortly followed by a crawling Anna, meaning Gideon got jumped on by two small energetic girls, and Gabriel went to his knees, waiting for his daughter with open arms. Neither of them complained, and if I'm honest, I think they liked having a fuss made out of whenever they entered a room.

Despite having a difficult pregnancy and a long labor with Eugenia, I knew Gideon craved a son to carry on the family name, so when Barbara was five and Eugenia was three, I brought the topic up. I could see his concern for in his eyes, so I assured him I knew I was strong enough to go through with it. We conceived that night. Thankfully this pregnancy was similar to Barbara's rather than Eugenia's, and was an absolute dream. When we told Barbara and Eugenia that they were going to get either a brother or a sister, they got so excited, and wanted to help in any way they could, which was very sweet. When I told Cecily, she was so excited. She and Gabriel had no plans for a second child just yet, and they were just enjoying spending their time with Anna. It was more important for Gideon, being the oldest to produce an heir, as he was the heir to all things Lightwood. I knew Charlotte and Henry, who had already produced a son, had no plans for a second child, despite Charles being five years old. It was safe to say Gideon was feeling the pressure. I think will understood these pressures, but hid them, as they didn't know if Tessa could conceive.

When I could feel the baby kick, I made sure Gideon, Barbara and Eugenia all a fair share of feeling the baby move. The girls loved it, giggling every time this happened, where Gideon still had the same look of amazement that he had when he had he had felt Barbara move for the first time, which I found so sweet. As had become tradition, we moved back to the institute ready for me to give birth. Barbara and Eugenia loved as it meant they had loads of space to run around. As Will and Tessa were the only couple not to have small children to look after, or a pregnant wife (Gideon was blessed with both) they took it upon themselves to look after the girls, which I know was enjoyed by all those involved.

The girls were with Will and Tessa when I went into labor. As Tessa was going to be looking after me whilst I gave birth, Will was left to look after the girls alone. When Tessa had left him, he had been convinced he could manage them, but this view didn't last long. Apparently Barbara and Eugenia had ganged up on him to completely wear him out, and leaving his questioning all his life choices. Gideon checked up on them every so often, and much to Will's annoyance, encouraged their behavior. Mostly Gideon spent the hours I was in labor pacing the corridor outside the infirmary. When Charlotte informed him that I had safely delivered the baby, Gideon kept his promise to the girls, of being the first to their baby sibling. Apparently Gideon had never seen Will look as relived as he did when Gideon released him from babysitting duties.

***Gideon P.O.V***

Before I entered the infirmary with the girls, I managed to calm them both down. Thankfully they had burnt a lot of energy being with Will. I informed them that Mummy needed rest, as did the baby, asking them to behave in a similar way to when they had met Anna a year ago. They agreed thankfully, so in we went. I had each girl holding each of my hands. When Sophie saw us walk in, she grinned at me. "We have a son my love" she said. My heart lifted. As the girls hadn't fully understood family trees, I looked down at their expectant faces and said "you have a baby brother" which they both seemed happy about. When I laid eyes on him, I gasped, he was a baby, male version of his mother, with brown hair and brown eyes. I took hold of him, and lowered myself so the girls could properly meet their brother. "What's his name" Barbara asked. I looked at Sophie. I had promised that if she gave me a son, I would be more than happy to let her choose the name. "Thomas" she replied. It was Eugenia that spoke next "hello Thomas. Love you" then kissed him. Barbara copied her sister. I have never been so proud of my family as I did in that moment.


	14. Chapter 14

**CrimzieLightwood: I've tried to have Thomas feature a bit in this chapter :) I love the idea of Charles and Barbara having a similar start to a relationship as Sophie and Gideon. It would make a good fanfiction.**

 **I apologies for the short Chapter. Let me know if there is anything people want to see in future Chapters. I hope people enjoy!**

 **I own nothing but the plot**

 **A few years after the birth of Thomas**

***Gideon P.O.V***

Watching my three children grow up had been an absolute privilege. A year after Thomas had been born, the Institute family had grown even bigger. Tessa and Will had been blessed a baby boy, whom they named James, a fitting tribute to Jem, and Charlotte and Henry had welcomed their second child Matthew. The year after that, Will and Tessa welcomed a daughter they called Lucie, and Gabriel and Cecily graced me with a nephew whom they had called Christopher. Watching how our children interacted with their blood cousins and honorary cousins was a delight for us as parents to watch. Charles had been 8, and Barbara had been 7 when Christopher had been born. Even at such young ages, they took it upon themselves to become honorary parents to the other 7 children. Even at such young ages, it was obvious that Charles had taken a shining to Barbara, but she was either uninterested or didn't pick up it, not that Charles let this get the better of him.

I was teaching my three Spanish, and both Will and Cecily were teaching their children Welsh, so out a group of nine children, 7 of them were in the process of being bilingual. It was certainly an interesting experience when they were all together, and you could hear a combination of English, Welsh and Spanish being spoken in various degrees of success. From a very young age, it soon became obvious that Thomas was a sickly child. Sophie would often cry when she thought it was her fault, but I'd found her crying, and assured her that this was not the case. She had done nothing wrong, and was a fantastic mother to Barbara, Eugenia and Thomas. Yes Thomas was sickly, but we could, as a family, support and look after him. Barbara and Eugenia were very protective of their baby brother, which he wasn't too impressed with. I just wanted them to have the sibling bonds that I had with Gabriel and Tatiana when we were children, just the breakdown that had happened. Although that had been repaired with Gabriel, our split with Tatiana had not been repaired, and she seemed to have rejected us. "Her lose, not ours" Gabriel had said one day.

***Sophie P.O.V***

My children gave me new reasons to be proud of them every day. Whether it was Barbara being an honorary mother to the rest of the children, Eugenia making everyone laugh or Thomas's loyalty to the select few he decided to attach himself to: mainly his sisters, his cousin Christopher and Matthew. Gideon and Gabriel had worked incredibly hard to redeem the name of Lightwood, and eventually that hard work had paid off. Gideon told me one night, that neither he nor Gabriel had put the work in for themselves, but for our wives and children. Benedict had been there father, so they could live with his embarrassment, but the hated the idea of the rest of us being tarred with the same terrible brush. I often found myself questioning what I had done to deserve such a wonderful family.

I had voice this to Tessa one day, and I will never forget. "Sophie, you have one flaw, and that is that you don't think highly enough of yourself. Gideon was an angry man when he was forced to return to London, and he wanted to find any reason to return to Madrid. You and you alone gave him a reason to stay. He fell in love with a very deserving woman who was prepared to put others before herself. You brought the best out the best in him, and when you became a Lightwood, you made the name a better one. You gave birth tom and are raising three beautiful children who love you dearly. They are turning into the fine Shadowhunters they were destined to be because of you. You may think that, because you can't teach them Spanish or how to fight like Gideon you have nothing to teach them but that's just not true. They know how to love the right people, the worth of loyalty and not to judge a person by appearance which are just as important" she said. I found myself doubting myself less after that.


	15. Chapter 15

**CrimzieLightwood: My imagination, reviews and how well I know the characters all help give me ideas for Chapters. But the last few chapters have seen me run out of ideas, so i don't know how long I can keep this story going. I have taken your suggestion and have done this chapter from the point of view of Sophie and Gideon's children. I have also developed your idea a little bit of Charles having a crush on Barbara. I hope you are OK with this?**

 **I am really struggling with ideas, so if anyone has any suggestions let me know, if not, this may be the last chapter.**

 **I own nothing but the plot!**

***Barbara P.O.V***

They say that your parents are one of your biggest influences on your life, which is why I'm so happy I have the parents that I did. They put me, Eugenia and Thomas first, ahead of themselves every single time. When people have children, they put their own lives on hold for them, but I had never heard either of them complain, not once about it. The love they had, not just for us but for each other was obvious. Add that to the fact they were (in my opinion) two of the bravest Shadowhunters around made me think: If I'm half the people my parents are, I'd feel as though as I'd done a good job at life.

Not only did they make sure we were loved but they (and the other London Institute Shadowhunters) that us Children spent a lot of time together, which I loved. Any time I got to spend with my cousins, the Herondale and Fairchild children was precious, and often involved a lot of laughter and adventures. Being the oldest two, Charles and I became honorary parents. I embraced the responsibility but, as time went on, I couldn't help but get the feeling that Charles's feeling toward me went beyond friendship. I didn't return these feelings, as I had known him for so long, that anything else would just be weird. Every time he made an advance, I turned him away, not that this stopped him. One night I was complaining about it to my mother, when she decided to tell me how she and my father had started out. Apparently father had taken a liking to her, but for a number of reasons, she kept him at arms distance, and even rejected him. But Father kept trying, and she realized he was serious, so she eventually gave her heart to him, and hadn't looked back. The similarities between their origins, and what was happening with me was a surprise, so keeping that in mind I decided to give Charles a go.

***Eugenia P.O.V***

It's often said that the middle child is the hardest, as you have to fight harder for your parents affections. The oldest, is well the first born, therefore gets a special part in their parents hearts, and the youngest is the baby of the family. As the baby of our family was a boy, so would keep the family name going, there was even more reason for Thomas to get our parents affection, and well the middle child is just well, the middle child. If there was the 'curse of the middle child' I never felt it. My Parents loved me, my sister and my brother equally. Yes their reasons may have been different for loving each of us, but we were still their children, and they loved us unconditionally.

Apparently before I was born, my grandfather has disgraced the family name, but tried to put the blame onto my father. But Father and Uncle Gabriel (whom we would occasionally call Uncle Gabby in tribute to what Barbara used to call him when she was little) had worked hard to redeem the family name. They did it out of their love for their families. It made me so proud of them, and proud to be a Lightwood, as they proved that even what seemed impossible could be achieved in the name of love.

***Thomas P.O.V***

Being the youngest, with two older sisters was both a blessing and a curse. Being a sick child also added to the matter. On the one hand, I could get away with so much, which was the blessing. The curse however that I was either being over protected or bossed about. Being part of such a massive group of Shadowhunters had its problems. I didn't like crowds, preferring the company of a select few, like my best friend Matthew. My sister Barbara however seemed to love the chaos that our large London Institute family brought. I have no idea why, but that's big sisters for you. They never make any sense.


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